At grocery stores in Finland you weigh your produce by yourself. In almost every store you have opportunity to choose between biodegradable and normal little plastic bag. Around the produce sections stand machines with number buttons and scale. You put your produce on the machine and when you press the right number, a sticker is printed with a barcode and the right price for your product. This cuts down the lines for checkout stand/desk and helps you to control your spending. Weighing a banana step by step1. Pick a banana 2. Search for price tag (usually name of the product is in Finnish, in this case banaani)3. Number 12 over the word vaaka is the number of the button you need to push(The word kilo means kilogram so these bananas cost 1,65€ per kilogram.) 4. Put your banana on the scale
5. Push the number 12
6. Place the printed sticker to your banana.
Differences of grocery shopping habits between Finland and other countries
By the checkout stand you can buy a plastic bag, paper bag or reusable bag made from, for example, fabric. So in Finland the bags are not free of charge, but our plastic bags are very durable and reusable. They don't rip easily and they can withstand the weight of heavy groceries.
In Finland the checkout process might feel a little weird because we don't have any packers and even checkers don't do the bagging for customers. Checkout stands are long and customers pack their own groceries before or after payment.
If you sign up for loyalty program, you can save some money. Usually cardholders gets better prices than other people and sometimes sale items are available only for cardholders. You can sign up at the store and they mail the card to your home address. K-PLUSSA TARJOUS text on the price tag means that you need to have K-plussa-kortti and you have to show it at the checkout so you can have the offer which is on the price tag. Special diet: Gluten-free Big grocery stores have their own sections for gluten-free products and usually they offer a wide selection of frozen and fresh products. Word GLUTEENITON means gluten-free and it's clearly marked to product. From upright freezer you can find for example gluten-free bread, pastry, coffeebread, cakes and many other options. Dry ingredients are also available on gluten-free section. Different flours, porridges, breads, biscuits and cereals belong to selection of goods.
Often "gluten-free" or "lactose-free" note are informed also on price tag.
Sometimes the prices are marked on shelves per kilogram. Then you can check accurate price from the packaging which also tells the weight of the product.
As we all know, there is no sunlight in Finland during winters... But don´t worry, you can just by some D-vitamin from the closest supermarket and have your sun in pills. It is also a lot cheaper compared to drug store prices.
Weighing a banana step by step1. Pick a banana
2. Search for price tag (usually name of the product is in Finnish, in this case banaani)3. Number 12 over the word vaaka is the number of the button you need to push
4. Put your banana on the scale
5. Push the number 12
6. Place the printed sticker to your banana.
Differences of grocery shopping habits between Finland and other countries
By the checkout stand you can buy a plastic bag, paper bag or reusable bag made from, for example, fabric. So in Finland the bags are not free of charge, but our plastic bags are very durable and reusable. They don't rip easily and they can withstand the weight of heavy groceries.
In Finland the checkout process might feel a little weird because we don't have any packers and even checkers don't do the bagging for customers. Checkout stands are long and customers pack their own groceries before or after payment.
Loyalty programs
Kesko's Plussa-kortti
(https://www.plussa.com/Oma-K-Plussa/#Kortin-hakeminen)
S-group's S-etukortti
(https://www.s-kanava.fi/web/s/s-etukortti)
Suomen Lähikauppa`s PINS-kortti
(http://www.kauppa.fi/ajankohtaista/uutiset/pins_etuohjelman_toimintamalli_kerasi_palkintoja_24235)
If you sign up for loyalty program, you can save some money. Usually cardholders gets better prices than other people and sometimes sale items are available only for cardholders. You can sign up at the store and they mail the card to your home address.
K-PLUSSA TARJOUS text on the price tag means that you need to have K-plussa-kortti and you have to show it at the checkout so you can have the offer which is on the price tag.
Special diet: Gluten-free
Big grocery stores have their own sections for gluten-free products and usually they offer a wide selection of frozen and fresh products. Word GLUTEENITON means gluten-free and it's clearly marked to product.
Dry ingredients are also available on gluten-free section. Different flours, porridges, breads, biscuits and cereals belong to selection of goods.
Often "gluten-free" or "lactose-free" note are informed also on price tag.
Sometimes the prices are marked on shelves per kilogram. Then you can check accurate price from the packaging which also tells the weight of the product.
As we all know, there is no sunlight in Finland during winters... But don´t worry, you can just by some D-vitamin from the closest supermarket and have your sun in pills. It is also a lot cheaper compared to drug store prices.